Waste Management has started construction on a compressed natural gas (CNG) facility that will fuel trucks servicing the greater Baton Rouge, La., area. It's scheduled to open in August, according to the company.

In February 2014, Waste Management officials announced that they would begin a conversion of their truck fleet in the Baton Rouge area to CNG in the fourth quarter of 2014, and the project was anticipated to last six to eight months.

“This was a collaborative effort between Livingston Parish, the City of Walker and Waste Management, and it could not have been accomplished without the work of all those involved,” said Warren Guedry, public sectors solution from the Gulf Coast Area.

Waste Management’s CNG-powered vehicles cut smog-producing nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions by up to 50 percent compared to the cleanest diesel trucks, the company said. Each pre-2007 Class 8 diesel truck replaced with a natural gas vehicle reduces diesel use by an average of 8,000 gallons per year and cuts annual greenhouse gas emissions by over 48,000 pounds annually.

Waste Management operates over 4,000 heavy-duty natural gas trucks nationwide and has the largest CNG waste collection fleet in North America, according to the company.